When you come to the point in your business or personal life that a website is needed you have to compare your options. There is more than one way for you to host a website. In fact, one of the most popular choices is free web site hosting, but this quickly turns out to be an error in judgment for most people. To truly understand what free hosting is all about you need to examine what you get. Most sites that do not charge for hosting offer a website template, DIY content options, and limited tools. You might even find the free hosting site only offers the server, and no DIY options.

An example of what you might find in a free hosting site is a free domain name, 24 hour support, disk space, data transfer, email addresses, design tools, support for third party design tools, photo, audio and video galleries; scripting and database tools, user friendly control panel, and online marketing discounts. From this example it can sound like you get a lot from the free site, but you have to consider the drawbacks. To better help you understand free web site hosting we will list the pros and cons for you below:

Pros:

-Free, thus saves you money

-DIY Tools

-Easy to Use

-Launch in Minutes

-Templates

-Use for Personal Sites

Cons:

-DIY Tools can limit your options, with web design programs it is easier to create the look you want

-Templates offered with free sites cannot be reconfigured or changed. There may be an option you do not like, but cannot modify.

-You share the host server with many other web sites

The most important aspect of free web site hosting that should be discussed is the server issues. A typical host server requires you to share the server with other sites. Even if you pay for the web hosting service you will most likely be sharing with other websites; however, it is the way you share the server. Any free site is hosted on a slower server, with ample sites in the mix. The reaction time for loading one page is extremely slow and will hinder your search engine optimization techniques, especially when you are operating a business site.

Due to the amount of websites on this one server it can be “down,” and thus your customers will not be able to get on. There is a high potential for loss of repeat customers with free host servers.

You might be saying to yourself that you have a personal website, but consider what you use your personal website for. Is it a site for potential employers to find you? Do you hope to gain notice to help your business website with this personal site? If you answer yes to these questions then free hosting is not for you. Even at a personal level the cons are a huge drawback, and should be considered long and hard before committing to the free option.